Portland Timbers @ Columbus Crew Player Ratings: The Verdict

We all knew it had to end at some point and truly what the Portland Timbers and, by extension, Caleb Porter were able to accomplish during the first half of this season was amazing, but every team loses eventually. Really it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Timbers, lacking three of their starters, succumbed on the road. In any case, a disappointing result breeds poor player ratings.

Fun note: Pa Modou Kah and Ryan Johnson have become the first Timbers players to be voted under a score of 5 (on the 10 point scale). Not that anybody should be too surprised about that.

Here are your player ratings:

Player Ratings

Donovan Ricketts - 7.5

Will: Ricketts had a fine game. Saving free headers off of corners is not generally something that keepers are expected to do, so we probably shouldn't hold the goal against him. Of course, Ricketts' performance would not be complete without at least one save that was completely bonkers, and so it was that he swatted away a chipped header in the 75' that could have sealed the game for the Crew, a save that few would be capable of.

Jack Jewsbury - 6.5

Geoff: Jack Jewsbury took over the captaincy from Will Johnson for the game and showed glimpses of his 2011 offensive self. It was actually a little refreshing. While I still prefer him as a right back and still prefer Will as the permanent captain, the game against Columbus shows he still has an edge.

Pa Modou Kah - 2

I always wondered what it would take for me to give a player a score of 1, and Kah unfortunately answered my question this week. But, if you're going to get red carded and give up a PK, I guess you might as well do it by kicking the opposing player in the face. - Tuck

Stacey: Whether his red card was warranted is up for debate, but no matter how you slice it, misplaying that first ball and then kicking a player in face was a terrible bit of defense for which there is no excuse.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste - 6.5

AJB had a great game. Defensively he was solid and won the ball first most to the time; he had the desire to assert himself offensively as well and looked for a pass or brought the ball up himself. He's definitely settling into that starting role. - Unknown

Stacey: His performance was steady and mature and very impressive in light of the chaos around him early in the game. Matches like that make it easier to believe that he will outgrow those big mistakes he can be prone to making.

Michael Harrington - 5.5

Geoff: Pretty much a standard night for Harrington. If anything he just seemed a bit too relaxed and didn't put enough pressure on the ball at the right times. While I didn't notice any huge gaffes, I also didn't really notice him at all.

Diego Chara - 6

His motor seemed a bit off today. Perhaps because he was leaving a bit more of that work to Zman and was trying to play the Will Johnson role of sitting in and providing cover, but he wasn't showing up all over the pitch like we've been used to recently. - Unknown

Geoff: As with Harrington, Chara also seemed to be a tad off his game against Columbus. Even looking at his heat map shows that he just wasn't as lively.

Diego Valeri - 5.5

Geoff: His same sort of creative flair was there, however, you can't miss a chance like he did. Bottomline, the Timbers needed a goal and he was gifted the perfect opportunity. Designated players are paid big money to create an impact on the field and he missed his chance.

Ben Zemanski - 5

Will: Plenty of people are asking what might have happened if Will Johnson had been in instead of Zemanski, but overall the Z-Man had a decent night. The major problem with his performance was that, along with the rest of the team, he looked like he was just waking up until Pa Modou Kah's red card had alarm bells ringing. Zemanski had decent passing stats and a handful of recoveries, plus he may have covered more ground than Diego Chara on the night (which is a lot of ground).

Darlington Nagbe - 6.5

Stacey: At times Nagbe looked like the only player player in the attack for the Timbers, and that awesome run through the Crew defense and the shot that followed was maybe the team's best attacking play of the game.

Ryan Johnson - 4.5

Where is the Ryan Johnson that preached and promised goals this season!? I don't know if its a slump, ego knock care of Piq, or just facing a stout and speedier defense, but something needs to change. - hootiesmurf

Stacey: Johnson was invisible for most of the game, which was partly due to the Timbers being down a man. Even when the Timbers got the ball up top though, Johnson could do nothing with it, managing just a single shot that was well over the goal. Frederic Piquionne's great flick-ons and overall prowess in the air were missed.

Kalif Alhassan - 4

Geoff: A little hard to grade Alhassan as he had to be subbed off rather early. Still, I didn't notice anything terrible from him. He does, however, need to start creating a bigger impact on a regular basis.

Subs

Futty Danso - 7

Futty did what a good CB sub ought to do, he came in and got the backline in order after what was a rocky start to the match. Props to him in taking charge back there. - Unknown

Geoff: How badly would this game have gone were it not for Futty? The big Gambian stepped in early in the first half after Kah was thrown out and helped bring a calm, collected influence on a scattered defense.

Jose "El Trencito" Valencia - 6

Will: Trencito added some much needed speed up top for the Timbers, showing a crazy turn of pace to get to the ball several times. Unfortunately, bringing on Trencito generally heralds a switch to a much more direct style of play for the Timbers, something that gives many fans flashbacks to 2012. Valencia did put togerher one of the Timbers' best attacks of the half wen he dribbled through his man before cutting the ball back to Diego Valeri, who promptly chipped it over the bar.

What do you think of the player's ratings?